As Daniel studied the scriptures, he was dismayed at how far the people had drifted from God. His prayer of corporate repentance provides a helpful guide as we seek a needed wake-up call from God.
- To apply Daniel 9 most accurately, we need to pray for the Church more than the country.
- Daniel’s prayer of corporate repentance shows us four key things to include in our prayers.
1. Pray According to Scripture (9:1-2)
- The Word of God should serve as a catalyst and a guide for your prayers.
- God’s Word is His revelation to us; our prayers are our response to Him.
2. Pray Aligned with Humility (9:3)
- You will never seek the Lord by accident.
- The fact that God is sovereign should not reduce our prayers but intensify them.
3. Pray Honestly About Sin (9:4-15)
- Repentance should not be isolated to personal choices but also include collective straying.
- Don’t be shocked if God allows you to sit in the hole that you dug.
4. Pray Confidently by Grace (9:16-19)
- Our prayers should be admissions of our need for mercy that we do not receive what we ultimately deserve.
- Prayers focused on our circumstances more than God’s glory prove that we’ve learned nothing.
- When God’s people have continually turned aside, we must return with sincere urgency.
- It is time that the people of God repent because we have taken God too lightly and ourselves too seriously.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
